Sometimes it's hard to remember that the lives we see on stage and television are not the lives lived in private. And this week, there has been so much talk of same sex marriage at the supreme court, and on this weekend, when the christian religion focuses on renewal, our "person of the week" is marie osmond, who is telling us all lessons about living life we have not heard before. &#9834; Good day sunshine &#9834; Reporter: She was always endlessly sunny, impossibly cheerful. &#9834; Little bit country &#9834; &#9834; little bit rock and roll &#9834; &#9834; little bit country &#9834; &#9834; little bit of rock and roll &#9834; Reporter: M osmond says her real life wa lived in the valleys, where you pray hard for a spirit to get you through. The god I believe in is the god of love, not fear. I don't -- I don't tell my children, if you're not good, you're going to hell. I tell my children that god will be there for them when they struggle. That's the god I believe in. Reporter: Growing up, there were nine children, all boys except for her. In her own family, eight children, with all the joys and worry. Like the day her daughter came to tell her mormon mom she is gay. My heart broke for her. I think it's easier now, but not as a 17-year-old. Not as a child, you know? And I still think there is judgment. I think there's still judgment on many things. If you are hispanic and jewish and more more. Reporter: And on this week of the supreme court hearing, marie osmond says she hopes all of us set aside fear and let love lead toward marriage equality. I believe in our civil rights. As a mother, I think my daughter deserves everything that she desires in life. She's a good girl. She's a wonderful child. I don't think god made one color flower. I think he made many. Reporter: And it's not the only lesson she learned as a mother. She was 48 when we saw her on "dancing with the stars," not knowing life was preparing to hand her a shattering blow. Her son, michael, had a long time battle with depression and drugs. One night, she says, she followed her intuition and went to find him. Everybody was like, no, he's fine. I knew he wasn't. This particular night, I found him wandering in a park. And he -- he was not going to live very long. Rushed him down to emergency room and -- it was horrible. Reporter: That night, he survived, but later, he did not. She writes in her book, how the coroner's office called to give her the news of his suicide, writing, "i thought someone had run a knife into my heart." And so now, she's written a book of lessons for everyone else. How to walk on stage smiling, while in private, you take the hard times and let them become a path to more life. Well, bad things happen. And you can either medicate it or you can learn from it. Move on from it. Learn from it. Say, I made a mistake. I've made many mistakes. But it's only a mistake if you stay there. Reporter: And so we choose marie osmond, whose book is called "the key is love," lessons from her mother about strength, self-respect and joy.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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